Ray's on the River

Twenty-two labels is a tight list, but the price tags stop you in your tracks — in the best way. At $12 to $25 a glass and $17 to $37 a bottle, this is a waterfront steakhouse that could be charging twice as much and getting away with it. That alone earns some goodwill before you've read past the bubbles.

The list covers the bases without embarrassing itself: sparkling, whites across multiple styles, a Rosé, and a red section that actually tries. There's a Morgon from Jean-Michel Dupré sitting next to Orin Swift Abstract and a Prunotto Nebbiolo, which is a more interesting mix than most steakhouses bother with. The white side punches above its weight — Eroica Riesling, Mar de Frades Albariño, and a J. de Villebois Sancerre all on the same list is genuinely solid. Gaps exist: no domestic Cabernet, no real depth in Burgundy or Bordeaux, and 22 bottles is a short stop for a destination restaurant on the Chattahoochee.

Every bottle on the list is available by the glass, which is the whole program right there — no tiered cellar selection lurking behind it. At these prices, pouring your way through a few different styles over a long riverside dinner is an easy call. The glass-to-bottle pricing ratio is transparent and fair, with no obvious penalty for drinking by the pour.